Three Long Term Coping Strategies for Anxiety: 4th of 4 in the “How to deal with anxiety” series from a Madison, WI Anxiety Therapist
Thus far in the “How to deal with anxiety” series, I’ve covered:
Today is the fourth and final blog in the series, long term coping strategies for anxiety. Once you know what anxiety feels like, you can more easily recognize it and use immediate coping skills. From there, you can begin to explore long term patterns that might help lead to the root cause of anxiety. You might be engaging in anxiety counseling to support all of that. Today I’ll be looking at additional long term coping strategies that can help decrease the overall amount of anxiety you experience.
The coping skills for anxiety that I’ve recently talked about are most useful in moments of acute anxiety. The coping strategies that I’ll explore today are useful when built into your life as regular practices, as part of your routine.
These coping strategies are like stretching exercises.
Stretching your body helps make it more limber for physical exercise. Similarly, long term coping strategies for anxiety help us become more emotionally limber in the long term. As you’ll see below, stretching your body can also help calm your mind down!
A note on the connection between the physical and emotional (and spiritual) parts of ourselves
Our minds, emotions, spirituality, and physical body are all connected. They all influence each other. Our physical bodies are where we store emotions. So, it makes sense that these long term strategies will address calming the physical body. Calming the physical body in turn calms the emotions.
As you experiment with different strategies, notice the reactions in your body and emotions. What sensations arise? What emotions come up? What parts of your body feel softer? Where do you notice more tension?
Long term coping strategy for anxiety #1: Progressive muscle relaxation
You may have already noticed a correlation between how anxious you are and how tight your muscles get. Neck and shoulders, for example, are notorious for holding tension. Progressive muscle relaxation releases tension from muscles throughout the body. As places like Johns Hopkins Rheumatology state, doing this “several times per week has been shown to improve stress, anxiety, sleep and pain.” The process is pretty simple and involves tightening and relaxing different muscle groups throughout the body.
The goal is not to push yourself but rather to pay attention to what tight and soft feel like in your body.
It’s really important when doing this to start very gently. Do not tighten any group of muscles where you are experiencing pain or discomfort.
Intentionally spending time noticing what it feels like when your muscles are tense compared to when they are not tense helps build awareness of the ways you may be holding tension in your body. After some practice, you might notice the precise moment that your jaw begins to clench, or your shoulders begin to lift toward your ears. Softening your jaw and your shoulders in turn helps you feel more calm in those moments. Over time this helps to decrease your overall anxiety. Find more instructions on how to practice PMR for anxiety here.
Coping strategy for anxiety #2: Yoga
You may have a favorite yoga studio already, and maybe even a regular yoga routine at home. Yoga can be particularly helpful in taking attention away from anxious thoughts by focusing on your body and whatever stretch or pose you are doing. Our minds and bodies are connected.
When you focus on calming your body, you will often find that your mind becomes calmer as well.
Practicing yoga is not about perfection or looking good. As I said earlier, our bodies store emotions. One way to become more connected with your body is to practice yoga. Practicing different poses can influence how we feel. Becoming more flexible in your body can also support flexibility in your mind.
Many people find that practicing yoga poses and stretches is very grounding. The poses can require concentration. The stretches provide opportunities to focus on the way it feels in your body. When your mind is racing, it can be helpful to turn your attention away from worrying and focus on what you’re doing with your body.
As with any practice, please make sure you pay close attention to what your body is telling you during yoga. Enter into each pose carefully, especially new ones. Never do any yoga pose or stretch that feels painful or uncomfortable, even if the instructor is doing it without any issues. You know your body. Listen to it and honor it.
Coping strategy for anxiety #3: Therapy for Anxiety
We’ve talked about what anxiety feels like, short term coping skills for acute anxiety, and getting to the root of your anxiety. Some people find enough relief from the short term coping skills and initial exploration into the root cause of anxiety. They continue to practice things like grounding and deep breathing. They may make some lifestyle changes. Short-term counseling for anxiety may also be helpful enough for them to continue managing.
Anxiety has been with you for a long time. It makes sense that processing it would also take a long time. Many people use therapy for anxiety in the same way that lots of people go to the gym.
Your body needs regular exercise and support, and so does your mind.
Therapy for anxiety is one of the many supports for your mind.
Meeting regularly with an anxiety therapist gives your mind peace of mind. Knowing that you will have the space to sit with your thoughts in and of itself gives your mind some ease. Observing yourself and your anxiety is a fruitful and long game endeavor. Therapy for anxiety provides space for this ongoing transformation. (And if you’re a Highly Sensitive Person, therapy can have even more benefit. Research shows that HSPs benefit more from therapy than non-HSPs.)
Finding a therapist can feel daunting - find out tips on how to find a therapist here.
Coping strategies for anxiety: What works best for you?
These three strategies are just a few of the many ways that you can cope with anxiety. Things like deep breathing, guided meditation, Yoga Nidra and body scanning can also be supportive. Other healing arts can also work well to address anxiety. Massage, acupuncture, osteopathic manipulation therapy, Rolfing and chiropractic are a few.
All these practices are most helpful when done regularly, especially with a routine. Play with which ones feel the most nourishing to you. Then find a way to build them into your daily or weekly routine. Starting small and doing it regularly will build a more sustainable habit. If the practice is useful and you enjoy it, chances are you’ll gradually increase the amount of time that you spend with it.
About the Author
I love supporting women struggling with anxiety. A graduate of Smith College School for Social Work, I have worked in school, hospice, and community mental health settings prior to providing therapy for anxiety to women and Highly Sensitive People.
Bronwyn Shiffer Psychotherapy, based in Madison, WI, provides counseling for anxiety, depression therapy, and therapy for HSPs. I offer online therapy throughout Wisconsin and telehealth therapy in Massachusetts.
Would you like anxiety therapy to be one of your long term coping strategies for anxiety?